Yuma County killings linked to divorce

Carey Hal Dyess shot and killed one person in Yuma and three people in Yuma County before shooting himself, according to the Yuma Police Department.

Yuma police spokesman Clint Norred said the shootings are connected. Cpl. David Rodriguez, of the Wellton Police Department, added that the shootings were connected to a "divorce gone bad."

Among those killed was the attorney who represented Dyess' ex-wife in their divorce, The Associated Press reports.

Court records how the 2006 divorce was Dyess' fifth, with the previous four divorces all happening in Washington state, The Associated Press says.

The AP found that court records also show Dyess was involved in two civil court cases, one in Yuma and one in nearby Wellton.

A judge issued an order of protection against Dyess in one of the cases in 2006, and a court clerk said it stemmed from Dyess' wife divorcing him, the AP reports. No further information was immediately available on those cases.

Dyess was found today in the area of Blaisdell and Highway 95 at 11:30 a.m. by Yuma County Sheriff’s deputies. He died from what appears to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Norred would not confirm the identity of any of the victims, but attorneys in the downtown Yuma area confirmed the Yuma victim was attorney Jerrold Shelley, who was shot and killed.

The Arizona Republic said witnesses reported that the gunman entered Shelley's office near the courthouse around 9 a.m.

"Apparently, he did not want to shoot the secretary, so he told her to get down. Then he shot Jerry," Yuma attorney Vida Flores told the Republic, adding, "I've worked with Jerry Shelley for over 20 years, and he's a very kind person. I'm really shocked by this."

The Arizona Republic also reported that Shelley had practiced law in Yuma for more than three decades, and was clearing out his office for retirement Thursday when the shooting occurred.

The Yuma County Sheriff’s Office and Wellton police were called to the first scene at about 5 a.m. in reference to a woman being shot four times in the face at Avenue 23E and Old Highway 80. Rodriguez said the woman was flown to a Phoenix-area hospital, but he did not know her current condition.

“When we got on scene she was alert and breathing,” Rodriguez said. “She was friends with the ex-wife.”

Deputies and Wellton police responded to a second shooting at about 9 a.m. when the body of a woman was found in a yard at Avenue 35-1/2E and Old Highway 80. Initial reports on the police scanner said the woman may have suffered a gunshot wound.

Then, around 9:21 a.m., the Yuma Police Department responded to a shooting in the 300 block of 2nd Avenue in Yuma. According to police, an elderly male suspect, now identified as Dyess, entered a business and shot and killed an adult male.

According to police scanner traffic, two more shootings were then reported in the Wellton area, followed by a report of a self-inflicted gunshot wound near Blaisdell off Highway 95.

The Yuma Sun obtained an email sent to city of Yuma staff members by City Administrator Greg Wilkinson, which stated the following:

“There have been some shootings in the City and County. It looks like the person has targeted certain people but please use extra caution.”

According to the email, a police officer was stationed at main entrance to Yuma City Hall.

The Yuma County Courthouse and schools in the area, including Roosevelt, Fourth Avenue Junior High and the Post building, were placed under lockdown as a precaution, but that has since been lifted.

Wellton Mayor James Deermer said he still didn’t have a lot of information as of noon about the shootings and “rumors are floating around.”

“This is a tragedy for our community ... that’s true anywhere,” he said.

In Wellton, Antelope Union High School and Wellton Elementary School, Sunset Health Center, City Hall and the municipal court were all closed while the shootings were being investigated. Rodriguez said that none of the shootings happened within city limits.

Yuma Mayor Al Krieger commended public safety officers for their swift response to the tragedy.

“The situation has ended and now we’re sorting out the details,” he said.

“My sympathies to the families with this loss of life.”

The Yuma Police Department and Yuma County Sheriff’s Office will hold a joint press conference tonight at 5 p.m. at the Yuma City Council Chambers,.

Yuma Police Chief Jerry Geier and Capt. Eben Bratcher of the Yuma County Sherriff’s Office will speak to the media in reference to this ongoing investigation.